Coroner: nothing abnormal found in autopsy of 7-year-old Opelika girl

Opelika authorities received a 911 call about 10:24 a.m. Friday morning to an unresponsive 7-year-old girl at Jeter Primary School in Opelika.

Upon arrival by Opelika Fire and Rescue and East Alabama Medical Center EMS, they found the child unresponsive in the physical education room.

As she was being rushed to the emergency room, she went into cardiac arrest. Advanced cardiac life support procedures were immediately initiated. Continued efforts at the emergency room to revive her were unsuccessful and she was pronounced dead at 11:33 a.m.

The child had no significant medical issues and no foul play is suspected. The parents have asked that her name not be released at this time. She was a first grader at the school.

Her body was taken to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences Medical Examiner's Office in Montgomery for a postmortem examination to determine the cause of death.

Preliminary results of a postmortem examination Monday morning did not reveal any abnormal results, said Lee County Coroner Bill Harris, and everything appeared normal.

Microscopic and toxicology testing will now be performed to try to determine the cause of death, which could take several weeks. Foul play is still not believed to be a factor in her death.

The Opelika Police, Lee County Coroner, and Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences are continuing the investigation.